The Lincoln Project's Stuart Stevens on leaving the GOP: 'The big questions that affect us as a country are going to be decided in the Democratic Party'
Stuart Stevens, a former Republican strategist now working with the Lincoln Project, told Yahoo News Editor in Chief Daniel Klaidman and Chief Investigative Correspondent Michael Isikoff that he does not plan to rejoin the GOP following the 2020 election. Stevens also revealed that he would have supported Sen. Bernie Sanders in the presidential election had he been the Democratic nominee, however he said, “Sanders would have been a much easier candidate for Trump to beat.”
Video Transcript
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: So have you dropped your Republican Party registration? Are you now a Democrat?
STUART STEVENS: I actually haven't registered for this year. But I will register as a Democrat.
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: Post this election, are you going to go back to the Republican Party and try to rebuild it more in keeping with your own views? Or are you have you abandoned the party entirely?
STUART STEVENS: I mean, I work with Democrats. I'm not-- listen, I love people, like-- I had some back and forth yesterday with Michael Steele, former chairman. He goes, look, I'm not gonna let Donald Trump run me out of this party. I've been a member of this party for years. I respect that. I'm just in a different place. I--
MICHAEL ISIKOFF: So you're all in with the Democrats now. You have no interest in going back.
STUART STEVENS: I think-- like I was saying, I think the big questions that affect us as a country are gonna be decided in the Democratic party.
DANIEL KLAIDMAN: Hey, Stuart-- so what if Bernie-- what if Bernie Sanders had been the nominee?
STUART STEVENS: I would have voted for Bernie Sanders, because I think the necessity of defeating Donald Trump is so urgent. I mean, Bernie Sanders is certainly to the right of Donald Trump on foreign policy in a lot of ways and probably to the right a him on trade, weirdly. You know, I've known Bernie forever, since I was at Middlebury College and I saw him standing on the street yelling about rent control when he was running for mayor. I was like, who is this guy?
But I would have-- I would have voted for him. I could actually make a case the best thing that could have happened for conservatives is for Sanders to win, because you'd think they'd have had something to articulate a case against that would have been more dramatic. I think Sanders would have been a much easier candidate for Trump to beat.
